The Winds of Change are Blowing But Live Music Plays On

Johnny O's Jam brings out area blues musicians

I made a concerted effort this week to slow down. In fact – soon it won’t be an effort but a necessity. I’m starting a new day job at the end of the month, and expect to be extremely busy for a little while as I adjust to new schedules and new ways of doing things. I’ll still get out though – and will do my best to continue posting blogs and photos weekly.

Jason Carl  warmed riled up the crowd

I spent the better part of Friday night at RIBCO. Jason Carl was opening for the Trippin Billies. I had never seen this Dave Mathews tribute band, so thought this might be a good opportunity to catch a local favorite as well as a new act. This night, it wasn’t Jason and the whole damn band… it was Jason and Ben. What a great combination though, guitar and violin. The guys were having a good time, and did more than just warm up the crowd for the headline act. I would love to catch Jason with his whole band again sometime soon, preferably in a well-lit stage venue. 

The Trippin Billies were definitely a trip! There was so much going on at once on that stage that I wished I had video to replay it. Their fiddler was animated and a blast to watch. The vocals were right on, and the guitar players put on their own show as well. I love sax music – and the sax player had a cool black saxophone with so much detail that the stage lighting didn’t do it justice in any of my photos.  The stage at RIBCO is deep rather than wide, so the best view of the stage really is from the upper level balcony. However, the hallway to the restrooms runs alongside the stage, so I was able to get close enough to see the drummer in action. This band is definitely worth checking out if they get back this way again.

The Trippin Billies put on a great show

Saturday night I headed over to Fargo, thinking I could hang with Nervous Rex for a bit, and then maybe catch another band before I called it an early night. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I need to pay closer attention to schedules. When I arrived at Fargo, the place was packed – for UFC fights! Crud! I asked the gentleman at the door when the band was supposed to start, and all he could say was “after this”. So I stuck around, not realizing that “after this” meant … oh… around midnight. It was an educating experience. A whole lot of people apparently enjoy watching men beat the living daylights out of each other. And apparently people who go for fights don’t go for music so much. As soon as the lights came up, the place cleared out! By the time the tables were moved off the dance floor, and the televisions rolled off the stage, the band had an audience of twenty. 

Keep an eye on LeAnna

Vocalist and keyboard player LeAnna Neibrugge is beginning to mesh well with the band, and had some really great vocal moments. I look forward to hearing more at a future gig. It was so late when they started I was already thinking about packing it in before the first downbeat.

This Week

Tonight: Jam nights at both The Muddy Waters and Rascals. I’ll be at Muddy’s. I expect that I won’t be there much in the next couple of months, so the next two Thursdays you will find me there. 

Friday: No Excuse is playing Purgatorys, The Avey Brothers are at The Muddy Waters, and Fargo has Smooth Groove.  The Harris Collection and Two Peace will be playing at Mound Street Landing, Phyllis & the Sharks are at Martini’s , and RIBCO has The Last Glimpse (CD Release!). 

Saturday: Lee Blackmon will be playing on the terrace at Creekside Vineyard at 2 PM (I’ll be there!), Sunflower Slim and friends will be jamming at Cool Beanz at 7, and the Whoozdads have their CD Release party at the RME at 7. Cosmic is at the Daiquiri Factory, Rozz-Tox has Friend and Foe and Lion in Rome, and Steve McFate is hosting a jam session at Tim’s Corner Tap. Muddy’s has James Armstrong, Lynn Allen is having (yet another) reunion at Rascals, and Night Light is playing at Davincis. Purgatorys has Wild Oatz, Nitrix is playing Martinis, and I’ll be partying (for my birthday!) with 1^st Impression at the Hawkeye.

There’s still plenty to do and live music everywhere, so come on out and enjoy some tunes already!